


Ghost of Gyftmas Past

by RedEyedRyu



Category: Horrortale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet, Drabble, Gen, Undertale Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 20:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedEyedRyu/pseuds/RedEyedRyu
Summary: Sometimes he likes to pretend that things are still okay, that the Underground isn't the hell it's become.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Ghost of Gyftmas Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SewberGamzee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SewberGamzee/gifts).



> This was my entry for the Undertale Secret Santa over on tumblr. I wound up writing a little drabble to go with the picture I drew, which is included at the bottom of the text. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!

Sans stared at the old Gyftmas tree. It was a wonder the thing was still standing, let alone that its light still shinned, illuminating the darkness that had settled over Snowdin. **  
**

So many things had changed after the kid left, taking with them the life of their King and all the collected human souls. And when Undyne took over as Queen…

Well. It’s better not to dwell on such unpleasant things.

Something stirred in Sans’s chest the longer he stared at the cracked star atop the pine tree, its bulb blinking out at random intervals, only for its light to flicker back to life, stubborn in its resilience. How much longer before that, too, fades? the skeleton wonders. He sighs, shifting his gaze to the bulbs hanging along its branches. The tree had been stripped of most of its decorations, the presents that littered its trunk long since pillaged, but those little glass bulbs remained, though they had suffered a similar fate to the star sat atop, each one cracked or broken to some degree.

The blood-red light in his single usable socket fades out and Sans lets his shoulders sag as he releases a weighted sigh. The light from the tree bleeds into his empty sockets and for a moment, for one, fleeting second in time, he pretends. Pretends that the tree is still in top-notch condition, that Gyftmas is just around the corner and he still needs to make a trip to the dump and salvage a new figuring for Papyrus. He pretends that everything is okay, that their Queen isn’t a psychotic bitch, that she didn’t _rip a hole in his skull_.

The tension returns and Sans’s eye socket blazes to life with a ruby red light. The tree is still a sad, sorry sight. The Underground is still starving. Everything still sucks.

“BROTHER?”

Snow crunches under the booted feet of his brother as Papyrus comes to stand at Sans’s side. The tall skeleton leans down and places a gloved hand atop his shoulder and Sans has to rethink that thought because he supposes… maybe not everything sucks. He’s still got Paps.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here](https://redeyedryu.tumblr.com).


End file.
